Invisible
by Angkeats
Summary: ZAAngels Write Off- Theme 2- Things Are Not Always What They Seem- Gabriella Montez has always been invisible to Troy Bolton, until now...


Here is my second offering for the ZAAngels write –off. Theme number 2- Things are not always what they seem…

Hope you enjoy it!

**Invisible**

"Dude! School trip tomorrow!"

Chad Danforth launched a running jump at his buddy, Troy Bolton and lifted his palm for a high-five.

Normally the two of them took advantage of trips away from their school, but this time, Troy didn't return Chad's high-five.

"Dude!" Chad persisted, clasping his shoulder. "Making out on the coach…making out in the caves…"

The class were going to the local underground caves to learn about the history of the town; the caves were a local tourist spot but neither of the teens had ever been.

"I'm not looking forward to it," Troy mused of the trip, not really paying attention to Chad's more solicitous suggestion.

"Not looking forward to making out?" Chad repeated, concerned. "What's up man, you sick?"

Troy lifted his lips-barely. He didn't really want to admit to his friend that small, enclosed spaces scared the living shit out of him, but he was going to get hell from here on out unless he came up with something.

"Caves man," he shuddered. "That's creepy."

"Not when you have a girl against the cave wall it isn't…" His friend led enticingly and Troy arched a brow to look at him.

"Dude," he said simply, not cool with Chad's blatant randiness.

"Okay, okay," Chad sighed. "I'm only kidding…"

"Besides, I don't even have a girl," Troy offered as consolation.

"You could have any girl with a click of your fingers, buddy, so don't even try that," Chad argued of Troy's popularity.

"Well, none that I'm into," he adjusted.

"I'll find you a girl," Chad assured with an affectionate grin.

"Uh, no," Troy pursed his lips, flicking his friend a look with his intense blue eyes for the first time since they'd taken up their lazy walk home.

"What, you don't trust me?" Chad appealed.

"No offense, but not really," Troy mused.

Chad ruffled his friend's carefully-styled messy-spiked hair.

"Alright, you find your own girl," he conceded. "I already asked Taylor to sit with me on the coach, so I'm done."

"What?" Troy frowned. "Who am I meant to sit with?"

Chad shrugged. "Jason?" He suggested, grinning as he jogged off to take his route home; the same place he and Troy always parted every afternoon after school.

"Yeah thanks!" He shouted, squinting with contempt. _Thanks a lot_.

/

"Is anyone sitting here?" Sharpay Evans enquired as Troy lolled across a double seat, hoping to get away with having the whole seat to himself for the entire journey to the caves.

He blinked, knowing his manners wouldn't allow him to deny her.

"No, go ahead," he shifted over and lay his head back with a sigh.

"You know, you haven't asked me out yet," Sharpay broached flirtily.

Troy slid her a look. "Are you serious?"

She frowned a little, not expecting his rebuff.

"What's with you anyway? You look miserable." She accused, feeling unsettled.

"Finally, someone notices," he mused with a brow lift, slouching back in his seat.

"So what's up, Troyboy?" She asked.

Troy looked out the window of the coach, watching the scenery flick by. His eyelashes were thick and curly and the sun glinted off the tips. His eyes became translucent as the light hit his eyes and there was something almost ethereal about him sat there, bathed in sunlight.

"Nothing, Shar," he assured with a press of his lips. "Nothing is wrong."

/

He hadn't exactly been telling the truth. Of course there was something wrong, the same something that had been plaguing him for months now. His father was sick. Really sick. He had cancer. Ironically it was 'lucky' that he had discovered the lump in his testicle before the cancer had spread elsewhere, but it still meant surgery and possibly follow-up treatment for his father.

A man who was used to being fit and healthy and able to run around the basketball court in the drive every night to help Troy practice his favourite sport.

Only now, he couldn't. And his suffering was affecting Troy, too.

"Eep!" Sharpay's excited squeal beside him brought his head up. "We're here!"

_Already?_ Troy sighed and unfolded from his seat, really not looking forward to the day's activities. He truly was claustrophobic and he wasn't sure how he'd handle being underground yet.

"Hey man, Sharpay?" Chad asked, without words, if Troy was planning on hooking up with her.

"I prefer brunettes," Troy told his friend, not really feeling the whole sex vibe anyway in his current mood.

"Okay, buddy," Chad clapped his shoulder. "I'm with Taylor today so I'll catch you after," he added as he headed out with his girlfriend to check in for their adventure.

Somehow, being strapped into all the gear and having a heavy helmet weighing down on his head; Troy felt somewhat more serene about the whole experience.

His helmet had a torch; his harness would attach him to a rope that led through the caves and all he had to do was clip and unclip at certain points.

"Now, Class!" Mr. Johnson, the supervising teacher addressed as they gathered in small groups as directed. "This is undoubtedly a new and unusual experience for you all…"

"_You don't say_," Troy murmured to himself.

"And some of you may find it hard being underground in the dark- especially where the pass-throughs are tight…"

"_That's me_," he mused.

"So we have whistles- for panic alarms. Simply blow it, one of us will get to you and lead you out. There are emergency exits down here, of sorts," he assured to comfort their fears.

"_Why does that __**not**__ appease me_?" Troy muttered darkly.

"Everyone is to stay in their groups," he continued. "And to stay on the guided track following the group leader- which will be the expert here, Laura Graham," he introduced their guide.

"_You won't find me off the track_…"

"Keep your harness latched at all times until the crossover points and take your time to make sure you unclip and reconnect safely," Mr. Johnson went on, Troy tuning out slightly.

Really, this was so obvious. Common sense would tell him that the instructions so far were nothing more than going through the motions.

"…in that case, we get out, as quickly as possible," Mr. Johnson finished.

_In what case?_ Damn, he hadn't been listening!

"Hey, what did he say?" He whispered to the student beside him.

"God knows, wasn't listening," they replied with a shrug, moving off seemingly unperturbed by missing the most important part of the speech.

Well, he wasn't the only one then, he mused, but he took a deep breath as they moved off, his group being the last to hook up.

"Troy, would you mind going at the back, before me?" Mr. Johnson asked. "You're the strongest so I'd like me and you to follow up and make sure no-one gets left behind."

"Oh sure," he nodded. _Why not?_

That's all he needed, to be left at the back to be lost and forgotten, he smirked. Still, Mr. Johnson would always be behind him in case of emergency.

/

It was dark down there, darker than he expected. Troy felt uneasy the moment they'd started their climb, the small, hollow caves bringing him no joy as they supposedly learnt all about the formations from the group leader.

Truth was, his heart was beating so hard in his chest that not only did he not hear a damn word Laura was saying, but he also couldn't breathe; a sensation that only got worse the deeper they got into the labyrinth below.

"Troy, are you ok?" Mr. Johnson checked, hearing his light, panicked breaths.

"I'm a little claustrophobic," Troy admitted, feeling the walls close in somewhat as he spoke with sharp breaths in and out. The walls really were coming in; but in his mind, he realized. The fear about his father; the strain of the last few months. Suddenly now his fear of being underground was compounding those erratic emotions and causing an explosive combination.

"Okay, let's stop a moment," he used his walkie-talkie to inform Laura they were stopping so that the rest of the group didn't get too far ahead.

"I don't think I can stop," Troy admitted.

"You wanna get out?" Mr. Johnson asked.

Troy swallowed. He really wanted to do this- prove to himself that he could get through. He deliberately slowed his breathing to control his panic.

"That's it, nice and slow," his teacher scooted up the line to rub his back in comfort.

Troy ducked his head and forced himself to focus on the task, removing his other thoughts from his mind. Eventually he looked up, blue eyes shining even in the dark of the underground.

"Okay, I'm ready," he nodded.

Mr. Johnson informed Laura and the group began moving again; a distant rumbling sounding in the background that intrigued Troy.

"What's that noise?" He called out to his teacher, frowning slightly.

"Remember what I said about the rain water?" Mr. Johnson asked and Troy swallowed, not wanting to admit he hadn't heard that piece of his speech. "It's tumbling down the crevices all the time…"

So there was running water, Troy concluded. Probably from the ground above. He didn't fully get why it was coming down in heavy swathes the way it was; but they soon passed by a waterfall showing just that- how the rain filtered through these magnificent stones.

"Could we drown?" Troy asked nervously.

"No," Mr. Johnson smiled assuringly. "Of course not…"

"Ow!" A student up ahead cried out, scrabbling and fluster sounding thereafter.

"Sir!" Another voice called, alerting Troy to a problem in their group.

"I'm coming!" Mr. Johnson yelled back, halting their group once more and informing Laura.

Troy frowned as he watched his teacher unclip his harness to scrabble by him, leaving him alone at the back.

"Stay here, Troy," he told him. "Don't move."

Troy nodded, not feeling comforted by his words, but he didn't have much choice but to hang there, between walls while the water gushed down below.

"Hang on!" he heard yells echoing through the caves and he sensed danger, sudden and real.

"What's happening?" He sucked in a fearful breath as the guide rope shifted.

"It's not gonna hold!"

"Grab something!"

"Everyone- just hold on!"

Troy frowned at the distant cries; aiming to slide the few feet toward the next rock as instructed but before he could get a grip there; the rope slackened and his clip slid off the loosened guide; leaving him to fall precariously into the lagoon just a few feet below.

"Arrrgh!" He pedaled his feet as he fell; splashing unceremoniously into the water under him; his strength allowing him to kick his way up to the surface with ease.

He whooshed out a breath sucking in oxygen needfully.

"Troy!" He heard his name and yelled back.

"I'm ok! I'm down here!" He swam for the side; the almost pitch-black making it impossible to see much apart from his own fingers in front of his face.

"Hold on Troy!" He heard the echo of a voice. "We're coming back for you!"

Coming back? Did that mean they were leaving him here? _Alone_?

He couldn't exactly shout out that he didn't want to be left alone because he knew in his heart of hearts that they had to find help- a way of rescuing him so instead he drifted around the edge of the lagoon to find a good outcrop to grip onto to stop him going under.

He thought he was never going to find a good place to rest as he sighed with frustration.

"Hello?" A soft voice, a girl's voice sounded behind him and he jumped at it; twisting swiftly to see.

He couldn't see anything though, it was so dark.

"Hello?" He said, wondering if he had imagined it.

"If you go forward a bit, there's a shelf you can sit on," the voice instructed and he frowned, wondering if he might have hit his head on the way down. When he followed the suggestion and found the shelf, he really thought he might be losing his sanity, too.

It was the shock. The fear of being trapped. The-

"How did you get down here?" He asked, confident he had been alone on his fall just before.

"I fell," the voice answered quietly, simply.

"What, just now?" He asked. No answer. "What's your name?"

"Gabriella Montez," she replied, the Latina name not familiar to him.

"You go to East High?" He squinted, not seeing anything still, not hearing any movements in the water from the mysterious girl. "How did you know about this ledge anyway?"

"I saw it," she said, not elaborating how.

"Where are you, anyway?" He fiddled with his helmet torch to see if it would work. It flickered on so he quickly shone it around the small water-pool; finding nothing there.

_Oh holy shit_. Just what kind of weird shit was this?

"Turn off your light," she said, her soft voice echoing the sides of the walls. He did as she asked, no clue why, just assuming he really was out for the count and dreaming this whole thing.

He swallowed, feeling a cool breath fan his neck. He felt a tickle shiver his skin against his arm.

"Are you an angel?" He wondered. "Am I dead?"

"You're not dead," the voice assured.

He sighed. Still no answers.

"If I'm not dead then I must be crazy," he decided, sighing.

"You sound sad," she noted at his sigh.

"How do you know?" He arched back suspiciously.

"I feel it."

Of course she did. Why not? She was invisible and breathed cold air; why wouldn't she be able to tell his emotions, too? Maybe she was a water-nymph…he smiled at his lascivious thoughts.

"I am sad," he admitted, deciding to give in to his mental break down. Well, why not? It wasn't so bad talking to himself now, was it?

"Why?" The echoey voice sounded so concerned, so sweet he wished he could see the face that went with it.

"Can I see you, Gabriella?" He asked back, avoiding her question for a moment.

"If you really look, you can," she offered and he lifted his hand to switch his lamp back on.

"Not like that," she quickly denied.

Then how? He frowned, squinting into the dark. He heard something then, like a body moving through water.

"Look," she said and he felt a hand cup his cheek.

He sucked in a breath, shocked to flick his eyes up and see the face of a beautiful, exotic girl with feline brown eyes and abundant waves of black hair. Her mouth was perfect; smiling.

"Wow, you're beautiful," he awed. But she wasn't real. She had an essence, but no physical embodiment.

"I can get you out of here," she stated, ignoring his compliment.

"I thought my teacher was coming back…"

"There's a problem," she shared.

He really wished she'd start telling him more, he mused.

"Okay, so what's your suggestion?"

"Follow me," she said and he felt cold fingertips touch his; as if holding his hand.

He slipped off the ledge and back into the pool; swimming in the direction she led him, with her voice once their hands were severed.

"See that light?"

He looked up, seeing a crack right above them.

"Yes…"

"You can climb up to it, but you have to swim under this rock first."

He pressed his hand against the blockading stone and swallowed.

"How deep is it?" He ducked under the water to see, his lamp shining the way under water. He popped his head back up, fearing the worst.

If he didn't make this dive and the short distance to the other side, he'd surely drown down here waiting for the rescue teams to arrive.

"Oh god," he shivered, frightened.

"I'll help you," she assured.

He closed his eyes, blocking her out, blocking everything out.

"I don't think I can do this…it's too deep…what if…"

"You can do this, Troy," the voice assured and he frowned. How did she know his name?

"My mom already has enough to worry about; she doesn't need my death to be another thing to cope with…"

He felt the cool breath touch his face.

"Your dad isn't going to die," Gabriella said, just like that.

"What?" He breathed out, stunned.

"Your dad…he's going to be okay…"

"Are you psychic?" He demanded, feeling very afraid. Not only was this semi-invisible girl sending him insane but she was foretelling his life.

"Dive, Troy," she said, prompting him to reconsider the action required to free him.

"If I go under, I might never come back up," he whispered to the walls.

"I won't let that happen…" It was like a breath on a wind somewhere, only he was very tightly trapped in the tiny space of the caves so he shook his head clear of whimsical thoughts and took the deepest breath he could muster before diving down, down into the even darker depths of the pool.

His light shone the way but the water was deep so it only showed him stone- on and on the wall went below the surface. As his lungs stretched with painful need, he wondered if the nymph hadn't led him to his death; but then he felt it, a strong pull on his arm, drawing him down, down to where the wall gave way.

He swam across but still, the strength brought him, speeding his exit.

It seemed like long, long minutes until he began to rise again on the other side, but he popped up; sucking oxygen into his lungs with thankful gasps as he opened his eyes and looked about. His light petered out.

"I told you," the voice sounded against his ear.

He startled, swallowing hard.

"How can I thank you?" He wondered.

A soft giggle sounded and he felt pressure against his lips.

"Climb, Troy," she told him and he looked up; seeing the metal ladder leading to the hatch now.

"Wait, I can't leave you here," he argued, wondering if that sounded crazy because she wasn't really 'here' at all and he knew it.

"I'll be waiting," she said mysteriously and he gave up figuring it out, he just climbed the ladder like she told him to; leading him to the surface.

/

"Troy!"

"Oh my god! He's okay!"

"Buddy!"

The voices of his classmates surrounded him as a swarm of students overwhelmed him on his wet trek back to the main entrance where everyone was drying out and recovering from the accident- Mr. Johnson being the first to come and make sure he was okay.

"I'm fine," he assured breathlessly. "Someone helped me out."

"Someone helped you out?" Mr. Johnson frowned. "You were the only one inside, Troy," he added.

Troy swallowed, knowing the truth in his words, but saving them from the people that wouldn't understand his strange experience.

The crowd of well-wishers parted and Troy found himself looking up as a ray of sun beamed down; bringing his attention to the foreground. A shy, dark-haired girl stepped into the light, hovering somewhat.

"Gabriella?" His jaw dropped; his lungs packed up and his heart stopped.

He quickly rose and without thinking, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

"You're real?"

She pulled away, smiling bemusedly.

"You made me wet."

"I can't…I can't believe it," he stared, not believing. "How…?"

"I've always been invisible to you," she lifted one side of her mouth sadly.

He frowned, speechless. She was right; he'd never seen her before. He didn't even know that she went to East High; let alone knew who he was. He met her eyes, not comprehending what had happened.

"How did you get inside my head?"

"I fell once. I almost drowned. Sometimes I can do things…weird things…"

"Like tell if my dad's okay?" He tilted his head, cupping her cheek as if to test if she was really there and not a figment of his imagination.

She turned her cheek into his palm.

"I got a feeling from you. It's…well…I can't explain it, really…"

"You don't have to," he assured, frowning still, gazing at her. "You're beautiful."

"You never saw me, Troy," she accused with big sad eyes.

"Oh god, don't leave, please don't vanish on me," he begged, fearing this to be some ironic, painful joke.

"I'm the weird girl that everyone hates. Some things are best left as they are," she assured, dipping her head.

"No way," he lifted her chin and made sure she was looking right into his eyes as their fellow students buzzed around them.

"Troy," she went to deny his intention, but it was too late, his lips were already on hers.

And that was the moment. That was the moment that Gabriella Montez came to life.

Because she wasn't invisible any more.


End file.
